VIP management teams across the online gambling sector continue to depend heavily on spreadsheets, business-intelligence dashboards and manual processes, despite growing industry investment in artificial intelligence.
The findings come from The State of VIP Operations, a 2026 study produced by The Playa alongside Gaming Operations Academy and WarriorLab. The research surveyed 70 professionals involved in managing high-value players, including account managers, team leaders, heads of VIP and consultants. Around 64% of participants worked directly for gambling operators.
None of the respondents named AI or automation as their primary system for managing a VIP portfolio. Spreadsheets and BI platforms were each the main tool for 30% of respondents, while CRM systems accounted for roughly a quarter. Only 15% said they used AI or automation at all, and those technologies were employed as secondary tools rather than as the main operating system.
The Playa said the issue extends beyond limited AI adoption. No survey participant was running their portfolio through a purpose-built VIP management platform, while fragmented systems can consume between 12 and 17 working hours each week as employees collect and reconcile information from different sources.
That fragmentation is also affecting decision-making. Although 75% of participants considered their available VIP data good or very good, 71% said information was distributed across several systems. Half acknowledged sometimes making decisions using outdated or incomplete information.
The operational pressure is increased by the size of many VIP portfolios. Around 64% of managers were responsible for at least 100 high-value customers, while one in five managed more than 500. The report calculated that someone handling 250 players would have only about 100 seconds per customer each working day if their time were divided evenly.
These workloads are contributing to what the report describes as “silent churn”. Some 46% of respondents said VIP customers often or very often became inactive without advance warning, while 48% lacked indicators showing changes in player behaviour or overall account health.
Managers nevertheless showed strong interest in technology designed to help them prioritise their workload. Three-quarters rated daily guidance identifying which players required attention at eight out of ten or higher. At the same time, 38% were concerned that wider AI adoption could weaken the personal element of VIP relationships.
The preferred model emerging from the research therefore places automation behind the account manager rather than replacing them. Technology would consolidate data, identify behavioural changes and prioritise accounts, while human managers would remain responsible for communication, relationships and final decisions.
The findings arrive as VIP programmes continue to face tighter regulatory oversight in major markets. In Britain, Gambling Commission rules introduced in 2020 strengthened checks on high-value customers and restricted VIP schemes for people under 25. Commission research published in 2025 found that average scheme membership remained significantly below pre-reform levels, with the initial regulatory changes producing an estimated 90% reduction in customers enrolled in HVC or VIP programmes.